A divided US congress is running out of time to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.
US treasure secretary Janet Yellen says without an agreement to increase what the federal government can borrow the government might not be able to make wage, welfare and other payments. If congress fails to act, some legal experts say Biden has another option to avert a crisis: invoke the 14th amendment of the US constitution which was adopted after the civil war. The section four of the amendment states that the “validity of the public debt of the United States … Shall not be questioned.” Which is a bit ambiguous.
The clause has been largely unaddressed by the courts. On Friday, Biden said he was not yet ready to invoke the 14th. amendment to avoid the United States defaulting on its debts, but he’s not ruling out the option either.
